No problem.
I just called up High Elevation in Lone Pine. He said that a few large parties went up the MR last weekend. Conditions tended to be icy due to cold temps. At least one party made it up w/out snow shoes, just crampons and axes. More importantly, there is only a soft road closure, so the bottom gate is apparently open this year. Last year it was closed until lottery season began. That's a huge difference; a ranger told me the snow is melted up to near Whitney Portal, which means the hike to the trailhead is probably not too bad (depending on rockfall and ice of course).
Can anyone verify that there is a soft closure? Yesterday I called the Inyo ranger station and a woman there made it sound like the gate is closed, but she admitted she was "sitting in a cubicle all day so I haven't been up there."
I'm tempted to trust the outfitter more, but always good to verify.
